Editorial Something To Consider: The Average Lot In Christie's Post-War Art Sale Was Double The Value Of The Top Lot In Its Watch Sale

You think things are crazy in watches? Check out the art world.

One of the most commonly used words on social media, forums, and in comments sections about stories of big watches selling for big prices is "bubble." It's easy to believe that say, a Rolex selling for $5 million is a sign of a bubble because it is new territory for the category. It very well might be a bubble – who knows – but then again, more people are interested in collectible watches than ever before, so maybe it's just the beginning?

The top lot in the Christie's Rare Watches sale brought 2.9 million CHF.

Let's compare two auctions, both held by leading international house Christie's within 36 hours of each other. Its Rare Watches sale, which we've covered extensively, featured 282 lots for a total sale price of 16,050,875 CHF. The math on that, including the few dozen or so lots that passed, works out to an average lot price of around 56,900 CHF per lot. That's a ton of money for a watch!

The top lot in the Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art sale brought 52.9 million USD.

The Post-War and Contemporary Art sale at Christie's featured 70 lots for a total of $448,062,000. No, there isn't an extra zero there. This means that the average lot price for this sale was over $6 million – or more than double the very top lot in the watch sale, and even higher than the top lot of the weekend – the almighty Bao Dai Rolex.

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The top lot in the sale brought in almost $53 million, or roughly three times what the entire watch sale brought in. But it wasn't the only lot that exceeded all of the watches by itself – you'd have to get to the tenth highest-selling lot to find a result that wasn't greater than the entire watch sale.

Now, global interest in art is far greater than global interest in watches, but when many mention the word bubble in the watch market when we see things start hitting low seven-figures, it might be a good idea to point them in the direction of a contemporary art sale for a little perspective. Will things continue to climb to the vintage automobile and then contemporary art levels? I would never bank on it, but there is no telling what the future might bring. And it is clear there is plenty of growth potential for all collectible assets.